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All Blogposts contain only personal views and are published in an entirely personal capacity. However, I do not accept any legal responsibility for the content of any comment unless I have refused to delete the comment following a valid complaint. Any complaint must set out the grounds for the deletion of the comment. I also reserve the right to delete comments that - in my opinion, are offensive or make unsubstatiated accusations against persons or groups. Like the BBC, this Blog is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. (with thanks to Valleys Mam's blog where I nicked most of this from).

12 May 2012

Save Penrhos

Penrhos Country Park(also known as Penrhos Coastal Park/ Penrhos Nature Reserve — map reference SH2781) is a 200 acre country park near Holyhead on the island of Anglesey. It is adjacent to the A55, on the Anglesey Coastal Path and also adjoins Beddmanarch Bay. It has been open for public use and enjoyment for over 40 years and is a very popular place for visits from locals and tourists alike.

The park—in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) forms part of the Anglesey Coastal Path Network and the National Cycle Track Routes 5 & 8. Parts of the wooded areas were created in the early 1800s with 15,000 broad-leaved trees, but many were replaced in the 1960s with commercial forestry species. It boasts a stunning coastline along with woodland paths meandering past pools and follies.

It is home to a huge variety of flora & fauna ranging from humble fungi, through badgers, bats and foxes, to domestic & migratory birds including divers, grebes, sea ducks, gulls, terns, auks, a large cormorant colony, pippits, warblers, chats and buntings. Rarities have included Red-necked Phalarope, Mediterranean and Glaucous gulls, Golden Oriole; Black Redstart, and Yellow Browed Warbler.

The area has been part of an AONB since 1967 with the sandbanks and mudflats of the Beddmanarch Bay being part of the Beddmanarch & Cymyran Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

In 2009 Anglesey gained Global and European Geopark status because of its unique geology while the Gorsedd-y-Penrhyn headland within the park being designated as a Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Site (UKRIGS).

Penrhos Nature Park is under threat from a development company—Land & Lakes, who wish to fence off a large part of it and turn it into a gated Holiday Park and Leisure Complex.

This will entail significant development and construction works including the destruction of large chunks of established woodland — the habitat of a huge range of flora and fauna. The development will also entail fencing-off large areas, permanently denying access to the general public to a facility that they have walked, roamed, explored and enjoyed at their leisure for generations. Anyone who has any doubts about the sacle of the devastation this will cause to Penrhos should compare the plan & air photo here

Whilst it is accepted by most people that Anglesey’s tourist industry needs to be developed in order to help support the area economically, the part of the development proposed for the Penrhos Nature Park and associated woodlands should not be placed in that location but re-sited elsewhere on the island where it will not have the same devastating impact.

"Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of it's beauty, it's riches, or it's romance." - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, USA